They are now working with Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant The Fat Duck to
produce new spoon designs that can enhance diners’ experiences.

“The effect is entirely psychological,” said Professor Charles Spence, who led
the study at the department of experimental psychology at the University of
Oxford.

"The idea is to play with the diner’s taste-buds in ways that enhance
their experience.”

In the study, which is published in the journal Flavour,
35 participants used taste tests to rate yoghurt eaten with plastic cutlery.

Those that used a lightweight plastic spoon found the yoghurt creamier and
more expensive than a plastic spoon that had been altered to weigh more.

A separate experiment also showed that yoghurt eaten with heavy silver spoons
compared to replicas made from plastic and stainless steel was also rated as
tasting better.

The researchers believe this could be due to preconceptions about how cutlery
should feel according to its appearance and this can transfer to the food
being eaten.

The colour of the spoons also had an effect, with yoghurt tasting sweeter from
white plastic spoons and least sweet from black spoons.

Similarly pink yoghurt was found to be least sweet when eaten with a blue
spoon.

The findings build on previous work that has shown how the quality and colour
of plates can also affect the way food tastes.

Dr Vanessa Harrar, the lead author of the new study, said: “Subtly changing
eating implements and tableware can affect how pleasurable, or filling, food
appears.

“This may be used to help control eating patterns such as portion size or how
much salt is added to food.”